Jesus also tells us in Matthew 28, (the most familiar version of the Great Commission), that, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”.
6. The connotations for us
And this then has serious connotations for us, as we are identified as a disciple of Christ which means that we must trust God for everything and for the way as he is watching over everything us all the time; watching over us in protection and not condemnation as we are told in Matthew 7 that “he clothes the birds of the air and the grass of the field”, and that we are not to worry as … we “are far more valuable to him than they are”?
This does not mean we are to wear rose-coloured glasses, or to try to convince ourselves that “everything is OK” … no, it means that even when things go wrong, which they do, we are to turn to and trust in God; because he will see us through.
It also means, (among many other things), that we as disciples of Christ … we do not measure the meaning of our lives in net worth as the world does … you know in financial terms or in worldly success, no, we are to measure our success in terms of inward growth, in our similarity or in comparison to Jesus himself.
… And we do worship him, he is our idol, (if that is the correct word), and as such we are drawn to him, and by being drawn to him we do the things he likes us to do, and in doing so, we become more like him. … It may not feel like it, but that is the way it works … we cannot help but be like him … if we worship him.
And yes we also focus on our mistakes, which we shouldn’t as this demeans or debases us … instead we are to build ourselves up, after all, the King James tells us in Romans 8:1 that, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” ... the Contemporary English Version simply says, “If you belong to Christ Jesus, then you won't be punished”. That is quite a promise, that is quite a truth, and I find it difficult to believe sometimes.